Benefits of Master Copies

Practicing master copies has been extremely beneficial to developing my artistic voice.  Not only do these studies offer in-depth research into the effects of light, but they also clarify ways of portraying reality from the greatest masters of translating nature.  Each of these drawings, shown below, has fostered an awareness of aesthetic concerns that I am interested in.

After Ingres

After Bouguereau

Drawing of a sculpture from the Philadelphia Museum of Art

After a Carpeaux sculpture (quicker studies such as this and the one above offer a lot too)

Drawing Copy of a terracotta sculpture by Benedetto da Maiano

After Scott Waddell

     Furthermore, no matter how realistic each master's technique that I studied was, investigating the unique decisions they made revealed their representation of each subject's character and beauty.  Studying nature has been able to teach me much, but there is also great opportunity to discover what beauty is and the choices needed to be made to portray it and each subject's character by studying from the masters.